A fascinating case reported today in which a young Sikh woman whose life was made an absolute misery by her mother-in-law used legislation originally designed for stalkers to win £35,000 compensation.

“A devout Sikh who entered into the marriage willingly, Ms Singh said she had accepted she would live with her husband’s family – but her mother-in-law’s campaign of torment led to serious health problems and the breakdown of the marriage in March 2003.
She was forced to do menial housework for hours and was kept a virtual prisoner in the house, beginning her domestic duties at 6.30am. Ms Singh told the court her mother-in-law called her a “poodle” and contrived a work routine – including cleaning toilets without a brush – designed to “exhaust and humiliate” her.
Ms Singh claimed that she was not allowed to visit the local Sikh temple, and was allowed only four short visits home to her parents in the weeks after her wedding. She said her telephone use was limited and her calls monitored.
The court also heard that Mrs Bhakar forced her daughter-in-law to have her hair cut to shoulder length, despite knowing her religious beliefs forbade it.”

The mother-in-law in the case had lived in Britain for decades, so while there is undoubtedly a clash of cultures here, as an abuser she can have had no excuse of lack of knowledge of British laws and norms.

With state of the whole country bring described by a British general as close to anarchy, there’s more bad news specifically for women:

AFGHANISTAN’S notorious Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which was set up by the Taliban to enforce bans on women doing anything from working to wearing nail varnish or laughing out loud, is to be re-created by the government in Kabul….
President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet has approved the proposal to re-establish the department, and the measure will go to Afghanistan’s parliament when it reconvenes later this summer. The conservative complexion of the assembly makes it likely to be passed.
“When we talk of ‘vice and virtue’ . . . the one introduced by the Taliban comes to our minds. But it won’t be like that,” insisted Mohammad Karim Rahimi, a spokesman for the president. …
Nematullah Shahrani, the religious affairs minister who will oversee the department, claims it will focus on alcohol, drugs, crime and corruption. But critics point out that Afghanistan’s criminal laws already address these issues and say that once the department has been re-established, it will be easy to misuse.